Visualizing resistance: a multimodal analysis of protest graffiti in Bangladesh

Abstract

City walls featured modified 1971 slogans, humorous caricatures, and martyr images during the July–August 2024 protests. These powerful images protested state violence and authoritarian rule. This paper explores the role of protest graffiti during Bangladesh's July-August 2024 student movement. It focuses on how visual resistance emerged as a powerful medium of dissent in public spaces. The study focuses on graffiti from four key cities: Dhaka (the capital), Rangpur, Dinajpur, and Pirganj. The researcher collected photographs and observations of street art in these locations. The researcher interpreted visual and textual meanings using Halliday's Multimodal framework. A qualitative method offered a deep understanding of how imagery, phrases, colors, and positioning expressed opposition, evoked emotion, and collective memory. Protest graffiti turned public walls into powerful memorials and a resistance platform. By labelling Prime Minister Hasina a monster and using Liberation War elements, the graphics and chants questioned the government's ruling. Thereby, it mobilizes public sentiment. Murals remembered martyrs and linked previous and contemporary struggles. It also links the 1971 independence ethos to contemporary youth grievances. These multimodal graffiti strategies sparked community outrage and solidarity. The study argues that the protest arts visually documented the movement and helped keep its momentum alive. Graffiti transformed ordinary walls into a repository for common rage, hope, and remembering, contributing to the overthrow of a 15-year dictatorship.